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Home > Gary Payton Articles > Gary Payton Not Playing, But Still Talking
By Percy Allen
The Seattle Times, January 18, 2009
You could see this one coming, right?
Gary Payton's move from the basketball court to the broadcast studio is about as predictable as Shawn Kemp flushing one of Payton's alley-oop passes when both men played for the Sonics.
Of course, the NBA's biggest trash talker would find his way behind a microphone once he spent a year away from basketball and realized no championship-caliber team would give him a chance to win another ring. And just like his playing days, his foray in front of the television cameras would include a few minor controversies, verbal altercations and some good old-fashioned trash talking.
Take for instance his incessant nit-picking of Boston Celtic Rajon Rondo or his scalding critique of Milwaukee guard Luke Ridnour, the former Sonic, which caused the Bucks to voice complaints to Payton's employers that he had gone too far.
Of course, this is just what the producers at NBA-TV had in mind when they put Payton alongside Ahmad Rashad and Chris Webber to resuscitate "NBA Gametime Live" and a network that has been struggling to find an identity and an audience since it began a decade ago.
Nearly midway into his first season, it's obvious Payton needs to mix more statistics in his commentary, but he has shown the charisma and wit to become the next Charles Barkley, the industry's top NBA analyst when he isn't being arrested for drinking and driving, making lewd comments to police or accruing thousands of dollars in gambling debt on the golf course and in the casinos.
While Barkley takes a leave of absence after his latest mishap that caused T-Mobile to pull his ads, his vacant seat on the TNT studio show "Inside The Game" is being filled by several guest commentators. Webber and Mike Fratello filled in recently, and Payton is expected to make a future appearance.
They might share a similar role on their shows, but Payton said he's not auditioning to replace Barkley permanently.
"I love TV, I love my job and what I'm doing right now for NBA-TV, but I'm not looking at it like what if Charles Barkley's job comes open and what can I do to get it," Payton said. "I'm not into that. I'm one of those guys that's wondering what's going to be best for me.
"And right now, being with my guys Ahmad and Chris, we've got a good thing going. We're creating a little bit of excitement, so let's see how far we can take this."
It remains to be seen whether Payton has Barkley's crossover appeal or if fans will take to him the way they do to Barkley, the oversized analyst who is able to soften his abrasive demeanor with self-deprecating humor about his battle with the bulge.
Payton's shtick is his playful banter with co-hosts and guests, a flamboyant wardrobe and biting commentary that has angered a few of the league's younger players.
"We try to make the show like the barbershop," he said. "When you go in a barbershop, guys are sitting there gossiping and y'all are just talking and talking. And one of the barbers is saying something and another barber is saying something different. That's how we wanted to make it."
After a 17-year NBA career that began in Seattle and ended in Miami, the 40-year-old former Oregon State broadcast major has returned to his roots. He still dabbles in business ventures and sometimes ponders a future as an agent, coach or front-office executive, but he's doing exactly what he has been born to do.
"It's been a great life," Payton said. "I love it a lot because this is what I want to do. I've been fortunate to have a job where I played basketball, which is what I loved to do, and I love to talk and I'm doing that now."
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